Kier S.

Puyallup, WA

Joined August 2019

I got nothing - I love photography and the outdoors

Great campground, good for hammocks!

There are 2 areas an RV section and a tent camping area, I drove through the RV area and it seems nice enough but there is no separation.

The tent section is really nice and while it does lack as much separation between sites the sites are very spacious, lots of room for bigger tents and most sites have enough trees that hammock camping shouldn’t be a problem. Several of the tent sites are on a bluff and you can hear the ocean all night, great white noise.

DOWN SIDE: it rained pretty hard my second day here and half my camp site was flooded! If I’d have put up a tent it would have been right where the water was pooling. Not all the sites had this problem, but the ones along the bluff seemed pretty wet.

ALSO - RACCOONS!!!! Lots of them and they will come right into your site and climb up on the table looking for stuff.

There are several ways to access a beach and tide pools during low tide!

To top it off there are flush toilets and showers!!!

Good for hammock campers!

This is my first experience camping in Mt Rainier and loved this campground.

Highlights: easy hike from mowich lake, water is from a small waterfall .2 miles from the camp and an easy walk. Pit toilet that isn’t nasty and most sites give you the feeling of privacy and with the waterfall close by there is constant white noise that while not overpowering it drowns out any neighbors.

Details:We hiked in from Mowich Lake and this being my first time backpacking since I was 10 it was a fairly easy hike, 2 miles from where we parked and while this campground is at roughly the same elevation you still get a fair bit of up and down.

When we arrived at Mowich lake it was Sunday of Labor Day weekend and there were a TON of cars, they were parked for almost a half a mile up the road from the trailhead.

Set slightly down the hill from the trail there are 6 sites that I could find, although one of them is #7 While you can be fairly close to fellow campers you still get a good sense of privacy. All of the sites have good level tent pads and enough room for at least 2 tents.

While there are tons of trees all around, if you are hammock camping you are actually a little limited. You could make 1 hammock work at most of the sites, but we had 2 and we were very glad we arrived at an empty campground and had our pick. We chose site 4 and made it work.

There are several bear poles around the site, so unless you are in site 7 your food and stinky stuff are close by. The toilet is town the hill on the way to site 7 and has 2 walls and I am happy to report that being out in the open keeps the stink down a bit.

1: is right at the entrance, the least private and no good hammock trees. There is a good stump for sitting and views of sites 3 & 4

2:off to the right as you enter the campground it is on the far edge. Great for a couple of tents but one of the worst for hammocks.

3: nice wide tent pad and probably good for up to 2 hammocks, maybe 3 if you go just a couple of feet out of the tent pad area. Somebody had built a small table out of tree branches and bark and it was where one hammock would go. Not wanting to destroy the masterpiece we moved on

4: we liked this one best for setting up 2 hammocks, although you are surrounded by other sites and on the trail to the rest of the campground. We still felt we had good privacy, it was quiet and didn’t mind at all.

5: nice large tent pad with some good siting logs it is on the edge of the campground and if I were in a tent or just one hammock this would have been my choice.

6: great site for a larger group there are 3 good spots for tents and possibilities for 1-2 hammocks.

7: by far the most secluded site it is the farthest away and closest to the toilet. For privacy this is the best and far enough from the toilet that the smell shouldn’t get to you.

Leave your hammock at home

Hammock score: 0 of 10

Good location for day hikes, bear boxes, trash cans and pit toilets all good things.

All spaces are wide open. No privacy and your view is the picnic area.

HUGE campground, but nice sites

One of the things I hate is hearing a ton of people around me while I’m camping. This campground is huge and very popular with families, but because of how close it is to the beach and a pretty constant wind you really don’t hear anybody around you. I was aware of kids running around, but never really heard them.

Our site was really big and lots of trees for hammocks & tents with a nice table and fire ring. The sites are really flat and clean with bathroom & showers located nearby.

This entire park is VERY pet friendly. Keep your furry friends on a leash and you can take them on any of the trails in the park. Keep in mind that the beach is VERY windy and my mutt was fine walking downwind, but when we turned around she was very unhappy being very low to the ground with sand blowing in her face.

There are lots of places to explore, a decomposing whale on the beach (stay upwind!), a nice lighthouse (under construction when I visited) and very close to Long Beach.

Lots of space & fairly private

I’ve spent a couple of nights up here this year and I LOVE this campground. It is large, but there is plenty of separation and the sites seem to offer fairly good privacy and have a good amount of space. 

I camp in a hammock and there are a lot of sites that offer enough well spaced trees to set up hammocks.  There are nice fire rings at each of the sites, nice tables and firewood is available at the camp site.  I didn't know before I went, but dogs are allowed as long as they are on leashes, BUT they aren't allowed on most trails around the mountain.

The campground is well situated to get you close to Paradise as well as a ton of hikes nearby. 

There aren’t any showers, but the bathrooms are clean and have flush toilets.